Treatment Archives - Jennifer A Douglas

Cancer Treatment Over The Holidays

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 19:25:31 +0000

Cancer treatment doesn’t stop for the holidays. The appointments, treatments, and surgeries don’t take the month off. So, how do we look ahead to this holiday season while we are facing treatment?

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Managing Home Life During Breast Cancer: The Mental Load Doesn’t Pause for a Diagnosis

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 02:23:50 +0000

Breast cancer doesn’t press pause on the laundry, dinner, or school drop-offs. If you’re overwhelmed by the mental load of managing home life during treatment, this post offers honest reflections and simple ways to share the load—without guilt.

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Introducing Encourage: Breast Cancer and Beyond

Jennifer Douglas — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

When I was newly diagnosed, I longed for a space that could guide me through each step—with clear information, real support, and a place to ask the hard questions. That vision became Encourage—a survivor-led membership designed to support you from the moment of diagnosis through treatment and beyond. In this post, I’m sharing how it came to life and how it can support you today.

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My DCISionRT Test Results: A Radiation Reflection Five Years in the Making

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 16:27:35 +0000

I was diagnosed with DCIS in 2019 at age 41 and chose a lumpectomy followed by radiation. With the information I had during my decision-making process, radiation made sense. At the time, I didn’t know about DCISionRT.

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Getting Organized During Breast Cancer: Keeping Track of the Details

Jennifer Douglas — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 14:43:05 +0000

How can we keep track of all the details during our breast cancer treatment? In this sponsored post with Healthgrades, I share my organizational tips with you.

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Is Babytam (A Lower Dose of Tamoxifen) an Option After DCIS?

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 22:01:18 +0000

A lower dose of tamoxifen called babytam is now an option for DCIS patients to lower the risk of recurrence.

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Newly Diagnosed: How to Go From Overwhelmed to Organized

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 02:28:10 +0000

Being newly diagnosed with cancer can feel overwhelming. To move beyond feeling overwhelmed, we need to get organized.

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There’s a Cancer Dictionary? Well, That’s Useful!

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 18:44:05 +0000

Have you ever opened up a pathology or imaging report and wondered what one of the words meant? We really need a dictionary!

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HealthGrades Post: Breast Cancer- It’s Okay to Feel Exhausted

Jennifer Douglas — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 14:50:44 +0000

As a mom of two, I thought that I understood fatigue, especially since my first son didn’t sleep through the night until he was 14 months old. However, I was completely unprepared for the fatigue that came with my breast cancer diagnosis. This was not exhaustion fixed by napping in the afternoon or going to bed early. It was more than physical fatigue. I was exhausted mentally and emotionally, as well.

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Owning My Lumpectomy Decision, Again

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:02:48 +0000

After choosing a lumpectomy in 2019, I hoped I made the "right choice." I had an opportunity to re-evaluate my decisions as I faced another lumpectomy in 2022. I needed to own my lumpectomy choice in 2019 once again.

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HealthGrades Post – Breast Cancer: The Size of Our Cancer Doesn’t Equal the Size of Our Support Needs

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 14:52:15 +0000

My breast cancer was caught early, while it was still non-invasive. It was so small that I initially thought it wouldn’t affect my life too significantly. Read more and get the full link to HealthGrades in the post

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Lumpectomy 2022: Another Step In The In-Between

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 18:57:28 +0000

As I headed into my second lumpectomy, I was struck by how different it felt facing this surgery again. I was less fearful of the actual procedure and more anxious about the possible results. Lumpectomy 2022 was another step in-between.

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Decision-Making During Breast Cancer Treatment: Solving A Puzzle I Never Wanted To Do

Jennifer Douglas — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:55:10 +0000

Decision-making was so difficult, especially at the beginning. I was just learning about the language of breast cancer, and I needed to make treatment choices without feeling like I had all the answers. There was a weight to the choices. What if I made the wrong one?

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25 Things I’d Tell Myself Before My Lumpectomy

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 22:03:39 +0000

It's been two years since my DCIS diagnosis, lumpectomy, and radiation treatment. Here are 25 things that I'd tell myself before my lumpectomy.

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Patient Experience Workbook: Record, Reflect, Remember Important Details

Jennifer Douglas — Thu, 27 May 2021 00:49:59 +0000

I am excited to launch my patient experience workbook. This will help you record, reflect, and remember important things from your medical appointments.

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Delays during Cancer Treatment- A Framework to Move Forward

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 07 May 2021 22:10:06 +0000

Delays during cancer treatment can be anxiety-producing. I had a few delays that impacted the timeline of my treatment and added to my stress.

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Diagnosed with DCIS- What Are The Treatment Options?

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 11:00:00 +0000

When I was diagnosed with DCIS- Stage 0 breast cancer, I was faced with many decisions. What were my treatment options? Since I had never faced a diagnosis like this before, I needed to do a lot of learning before making these decisions.

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How I Used GoodNotes and my Bullet Journal During Breast Cancer Treatment

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 11:00:00 +0000

I used the GoodNotes app to keep track of a lot of information during my breast cancer treatment. I used it as my bullet journal and my information hub.

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Ten Tools I Used To Walk Through Cancer Anxiety

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000

Cancer anxiety can come up during all parts of our diagnosis and treatment journey. Here are ten tools that helped me walk through the anxiety.

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Lumpectomy Day: Sharing My Patient Experience on Surgery Day

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000

I was surprised to learn that my lumpectomy would be done as an outpatient surgery. Here is a walkthrough of my surgery day.

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Getting Into The Daily Radiation Routine

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 12:00:00 +0000

When I was undergoing radiation treatment for breast cancer, I got into a daily routine that worked with my fatigue and appointment schedule. Since radiation treatment happened every weekday, I needed to arrange my daily routine around the appointments.

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On Tamoxifen: Sharing My Patient Experience

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 12:00:00 +0000

I was prescribed tamoxifen after my lumpectomy. Tamoxifen is a recommended medication for those who have had a breast cancer diagnosis in the past or are considered high risk for developing breast cancer. I want to share my experiences with tamoxifen with you so that you can have an idea of what it might be like to be on this medication.

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DCIS Treatment Decisions: Radiation After My Lumpectomy

Jennifer Douglas — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 12:00:00 +0000

After my lumpectomy in the fall of 2019, I decided to undergo radiation treatment. After consulting with my breast cancer medical team and getting my questions answered, I felt very comfortable with my treatment decision.

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Walking Through Cancer Fatigue During Radiation Treatment

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 12:00:00 +0000

When I was undergoing radiation treatment for my breast cancer, I experienced major fatigue as a side effect. I was informed that I might expect fatigue, but I was surprised by how quickly it hit me.

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Wire Guided Localization Before Lumpectomy

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Before my lumpectomy, I had a wire-guided localization performed by a radiologist. I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I went into the procedure. I’m going to share my patient experience with you so that you can better understand this procedure.

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Skincare During Radiation Treatment

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Skincare during radiation treatment is extremely important. Radiation treatment will cause your skin to change. It is important to know what is safe to do to care for your skin during this time.

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Surgery Choices: Why I Decided to Have a Lumpectomy

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000

I decided to have a lumpectomy last fall after my DCIS diagnosis. Here are the 5 reasons I decided to choose this surgery.

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The Three Facets of Cancer Fatigue

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 12:53:00 +0000

Cancer Fatigue is so much more than just needing more sleep. Cancer fatigue has three facets: Physical, Mental, and Emotional.

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Anxiety and Cancer

Jennifer Douglas — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:00:00 +0000

Anxiety and Cancer seem to go hand in hand. It is certainly possible to have anxiety without cancer, but I would guess that no one has cancer without some form of anxiety.

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